CrimsonNL From Netherlands, joined Dec 2007, 1435 posts, RR: 43 Posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10195 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Hi, below you will find a report about my flights on Lufthansa (AMS-FRA-IAH), Mesa Airlines (ATL-ORD), United Airlines (ORD-CDG) and KLM Royal Dutch (CDG-AMS) All these flights took place on either the 18th or 25/26th of October 2009.
Last summer, one of my best friends moved to Enterprise, AL, because of Dutch Airforce activities at Ft. Rucker. Loving flying, and vacations in the US of A, I made it clear that I would definitely be visiting him sooner or later! Initially I planned on traveling on my own to Atlanta, then drive to Enterprise. However, my father used to fly for the RNLAF and was stationed at Ft Rucker for half a year in the late 70s. Naturally he liked the opportunity to see Ft. Rucker again, and we decided to go together and make a one week trip to the southern states.
We planned a trip starting in Houston TX, then a road trip to Atlanta GA, via numerous places in the south, and naturally to see my friend Frank in Alabama. The affordable flight options naturally did not include KLM, and we narrowed it down to 2 routes. The aircraft scheduled for route one were 1x A320, 2x 777-200, and 1x MD83. The Aircraft for route two were 1x A320, 1x 747-400, 1x CRJ-700, and 1x 767-300ER.
My last 747 trip was in 2007, but my last 767 trip was over 5 years ago on KLM! Loving both the 747 and the 767 this choice seemed more obvious then twice the 777. (Don't worry, I'll try one someday) Also the CRJ-700 wasnt in my log yet. The trip to IAH would be on LH via FRA. I had never been to FRA, or flown on LH so this proved to be an interesting trip!
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On 18 October we drove to Amsterdam Schiphol Airport to head for FRA on a Lufthansa 320. We had checked in online and selected seats. However when I checked a short while before leaving home, I found out there was an equipment change to an A319. At AMS we could proceed straight to the luggage drop off, cutting a very long check-in line. In front of us was a large group of about 20 people with at least 2 suitcases each. For about 15 minutes we did not move a centimeter. When the lady at the counter found out the group had not checked in, and were in the wrong line, she (to our relief) sent them off to check in, and we dropped our bags and headed trough security.
The little bus stayed the night at AMS and was still fast asleep when we arrived
Swiss getting ready to go
After boarding I made my way to seat 15A. The seat was comfortable and the cabin seemed spotless apart from some very dirty black fingerprints on the tray table. Legroom was alright. Pretty soon we pushed back and began the taxi to RWY36C. It was still dark and I was very tired so I did not bother to film the take-off, which itself was nothing spectacular. The flight seemed very full and I do not recall seeing much, if any empty seats. Next to my dad in seat 15C was a lady who was snoring very loudly from Takeoff to Docking.
Climb out
Sunrise
After a while the service started. We were handed out 2 sandwiches. One with cheese and one with chicken. The cabin crew was nice and very professional. We were welcomed by the Captain via the PAS as well.
Sandwich
Coffee, nothing special, but loved the cup and the stirrer!
Soon enough we started the descent into FRA. It was a nice uneventful flight, and a good first impression of Lufthansa!
We got on a bus and it was a very long drive to the terminal, luckily with tons of LH equipment around, and a lot of great stuff I don't get to see at AMS. Inside the terminal we had a very long walk to our next flight, LH440 to IAH! After clearing security and passport control and another long walk, we arrived at the gate. It was a large gate area with a lot of windows and very well lit. A very spacious, modern, and light area, something I'd like at AMS. The most interesting thing about the gate area was that the height of the floor was about a meter or so lower then our beautiful 747's flight deck! This made for some great pictures of this truly majestic lady! I have flown on a 747-206BSUD and twice on a 747-406M but never on a full-pax -400!
My seat was all the way in the back on 49K. I knew LH's 747 interiors are pretty old fashioned, and that I would not be having a PTV. What a shame, still the best plane in the fleet. Funny thing about this plane's registration, VW immediately brings Volkswagen to mind, and therefor she is named "Wolfsburg" after the big Volkswagen factory in that city!
The Wolfsburg
Face to face with Ms Wolfsburg
I loved how the biz/first class pax had their own bridge!
It was a long walk to the back passing the business class. The cabin crew welcomed us and there were drinks available in the galley. I took my seat in 49K and first noticed there were no personal gaspers! Wow, never had that before! (Well, not on a jet, that is) The flight was completely full and again I have not seen a single empty seat. The legroom was alright, and luckily (or unlucky) there was no entertainment box because of the lack of PTV's.
Cabin
View
After a while the doors were closed and the long hop started. A long taxi but with a lot of interesting stuff to see. Nice reflections!
The take-off roll seemed never ending, if I timed correctly about 50 seconds! Finally upon rotate we "fell" a few meters due to being far in the aft and the rear of the plane going down at upon rotate. (one of the reasons I chose this seat) It was an awesome feeling.
Climb out
Watching outside the whole time, I suddenly recognized some distinctive shaped houses in my hometown! I could see my own (normal) house, my street is visible above the large hangar like structure in the center of the picture.
After a short while a snack and a drink were passed out by the very friendly, attentive, and professional flight attendants working my section of the plane.
After that the lunch was either chicken, or bratwurst and sauerkraut (at least they are keeping it real ) I opted for the first choice and it was surprisingly good! My dad had the second and said it reminded him of the food he used to get at german army bases while training there hehe. The best part about the meal was that the beer came in an actual bottle.
My meal
Second option
Nice detail on the cutlery
Wing
After that all that remained was 8 hours of flight and a whole lot of ocean to cross. The time went by quickly and only now when writing this I am wondering how I spent all those hours. I didn't feel uncomfortable at any moment. Throughout the flight there were multiple drink services and drinks and snacks were available anytime in the galley. Halfway through a Milka candy bar was passed out along with even more drinks. LH sure did a good job hydrating everyone!
I got to see a little piece of Greenland, which is at all times my favorite part of the TATL flight. We hit the Canadian coast and spent an hour over a large area in which I saw maybe 2 villages! Dinner was served over the Canadian mainland. Choices were beef and rice or some veggie stuff. I opted for the beef. It was alright, but a little overkill on the rice! (look at the desert and main course)
The outside views got interesting over the USA. We got a terrific view of Chicago, Little Rock, and I even saw the arch reflecting in the Saint Louis sun!
Chicago
St Louis
Soon after we started a very gradual descent into IAH.
During the taxi to the stand engine number 4, which I had been looking at for the past 10 hours and 15 minutes, was hanging over the grass! You'd think it would be sucking up a lot of dirt and stuff?
We finally docked and disembarked. In one of the overhead lockers I noticed what looked like some sort of tray with different magazines for the pax to read? Also on a bulkhead was a tray with postcards of LH and information about them, a nice touch! Anyhow, on to immigrations!
Who's big blue nose is that?
Unfortunately for us, not only did we have a heap of pax from our own flight ahead of us, KLM, AF, and BA had just docked minutes before us! This made for a rather long wait at immigrations. The entire LH crew were in line too, 3 pilots and 15 f/a's! First impressions of IAH were nice, very light and lots of marble. Luckily we had a very nice immigrations officer who, as she told us, had been working for western pacific when they were still flying. After that we went downstairs to a huge baggage claim hall where my trusted blue samsonite was already waiting for me! I found the car rental complex great, all the rental companies in one place! We rented a chevy HHR, turned out to be a fine car.
I wont go into too many details of my trip to keep this report from becoming too long, but a couple highlights;
The Galveston Lone Star Flight Museum
NASA Stennis Space Centre
USS Alabama
USS Drum and the MOB Skyline
Pensacola Naval Air Station Museum (def. take the depot tour if your ever there)
Ft Rucker Army Aviation Museum
(Yes, she has wings)
After a great week in the south it was already time to head back. Our routing would be ATL-ORD-AMS on Mesa and United. I tried checking in online but couldn't for some reason, and I couldn't select seats either! Arriving at Atlanta I asked the check-in lady if she could select a seat for me, instead she put me in seat E, the center seat of the center row
We went trough security in the T concourse and headed towards the gate, only to find out there was just a wall and no window to look out. Thats why we sat down at the adjacent AA gate. I asked our gate agent if she could change my seats. She gave us seats A and B for the Mesa flight (Y+) but she was unable to select one for the AMS leg. I called UA reservations and again was told they could not change my seat. The AMS flight was gonna be a boring one! After a while a CR7 showed up at the gate and I was ready for my first CRJ adventure. I had heard some pretty bad stories about misplaced windows and legroom, but found no such thing in the Y+ class.
We were welcomed on board by the co-pilot and the purser. I made my way to my seat and found the legroom to be very generous, much better then on say, KL or LH economy. The window was placed perfectly, only I didn't really like the seat itself, it seemed a little hard. The push started and after a short taxi we left Atlanta.
After landing we taxied to the stand and disembarked.
I met airliners member Lfutia (Leo) here and we headed towards my transfer gate. I loved ORD! Everything looked really stylish. (In the terminals I visited that is) We arrived at our gate, C21 IIRC and there was no staff yet. After getting some food and catching up with Leo we tried again, this time there was a gate agent. When I asked him about changing seats he told me the flight was overbooked and there was no way I'd get another seat.
Leo on the right and yours truly on the left
After waiting at the gate area the gate agent announced that the flight was overbooked by 6. He told that if one would volunteer to fly via LHR you'd get a $1000 dollar voucher! I asked him about the deal and he told me it would be a 10 hour layover in LHR. A little too much for me. (And the other pax interested) Hearing this, the agent said we could also fly via CDG, still get the voucher, and arrive in AMS 4 hours late. Now that's an interesting deal!
I convinced my dad to go and told the gate agent that I'd be willing to fly via CDG, but only if he'd get me a window seat, and if the plane was a 767 I ended up with a great seat in Y+. An American lady living in the Netherlands wanted to go, but was a little afraid of the transfer and such. She asked if she could stick to my dad and me and naturally we told her she'd be fine. (me being a frequent flyer and my dad working 23 years in aviation)
We signed for the voucher AND for the seat on AF to AMS. After that we headed down to gate C19 (iirc)
Our ride, the N646UA
I said my goodbyes to Leo and boarded the plane, made my way to seat 28K. The plane's interior looked alright, I loved the biz seats and first! The legroom was terrific, way better then LH, or any other TATL flight i'd ever taken. My legs didn't touch the seat in front of me at anytime!
Other 767's getting ready for the red-eye flights to Europe
Seat
After a while the doors closed and we were welcomed by the captain over the announcement system. We pushed and had a pretty long taxi to the active. By now it was already dark outside and I was a little surprised the cabin lights were not dimmed for take-off, this also made for less views outside! We steadily climbed and after a while a snack service started, a bag of mini pretzels and a drink. I did have a PTV, but no AVOD. This basically included that you can select 10 channels where movies are on a loop, its sort of like a regular TV, you can choose channels, but not what is on. The most important thing was that I had a personal moving map
After an hour in flight the dinner service started. My choice was chicken, and it came with rice and a large amount of slaw. Although it did include dressing it wasn't really a salad, just a whole lot of slaw. Some of the leaves had brown spots on it... The browny was great though.
I watched Terminator Salvation and it finished when we left the Canadian coast. I decided to get some sleep and woke up 2.5 hour later, wow! I had never slept longer then 30 minutes on any flight! Looking on the map we had just passed Greenland. I went to the aft galley and the F/a's were giving out water to the pax there. The fa's serving my section seemed a little grumpy although they were attentive. Halfway trough the cockpit crew gave us an update about the remaining flight time etc. The pilots seemed like great guys as they had a sense of humor in the announcement. Watching outside I saw more stars then I'd ever seen before, awesome!
About 1.5 hours before arrival in CDG the breakfast service started. It consisted of some strawberry pastry and yogurt. While it tasted fine I would have liked a little more food!
I asked for a coffee but the f/a didn't ask me about sugar/creamer... Coffee had a strong taste and I couldn't really decide if I liked it or not
Meanwhile the sun was rising outside
Descent started into Paris Charles deGaulle International.
After docking I made my way forward and asked the stewardess waving everybody off if I could make a picture of the front office, she happily asked the pilots and they invited me in. They were very nice guys and both told me the 767 was a very nice plane when I asked how she handled.
The cockpit, thanks fellows!
After disembarking we got on a bus to the transfer terminal, I think F2, it was a long drive but lots of interesting stuff to see.
Hello fatty, first SQ380 for me
We were dropped off at the terminal and went trough customs and walked to the AF transfer desk. That's where trouble started... The lady helping us told us that UA did not book us (as they promised, and as I signed for) but instead we were put on the Air France waiting list. The American lady traveling with us however, was handed a boarding pass.
The AF lady gave us a standby ticket for the AF flight we were supposed to be on, and advised us to check the AF desk in the gate area.
At the AF standby desk (or named something like that) we were told that the AF flight we signed for was overbooked, and that we had a very low priority on the waiting list, below all the AF pax from other flights. This was at about 9AM. The lady told us that the first flight we could get on for sure was at 16:30 that afternoon! She'd be trying to get us on another flight but she said it looked bad and it probably wont work. This was the start of a VERY long wait of over 7 hours at CDG :| As you might understand, we were furious at that moment. (Not at the AF personnel who were all very friendly but unable to help) but at the gate agent in ORD who said we'd get on AF1640!
The terminal (at the end I started to feel like Tom Hanks) The terminal itself was very nice and clean, only I would have liked a better wifi reception and some more restaurants.
We were waiting for hours and we saw at least 5 flights heading for AMS, every time we asked about it we were told we couldn't get on because our suitcases wouldn't make it on board in time. Finally after waiting 7 hours (it was about 24 hours since we left our Atlanta Motel) it was time for KL1238 to board. It would be KLM who got us home after all the trouble.
This was one of the first flights I wasn't excited to get on, I just wanted to go home! A Dutch couple sat next to me and told me they just got back from Rio de Janeiro that morning, apparently they missed their connection and AF had them wait for multiple hours. Luckily CDG-AMS is just a short hop and as soon as everyone sat we took off, video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22PuX_qzz30
The onboard service started, KL has the choice of multiple (including alcoholic) beverages and either a cookie or a packet of tuc's
The 4 f/a's were working hard to serve everybody on time, by the time I had finished my snack we were already starting our decent. Outside the sun was setting. Interesting, I´d seen the sun rise and set that day while on a flight.
On approach for AMS we descended trough the clouds, we would be landing runway 09.
After docking we headed to the baggage claim area. It turned out our suitcases never left Chicago, and we missed an earlier flight because of the "ghost" suitcases floating around the CDG baggage system! To my great relief they were delivered the day later, only opened by the TSA which did not find it necessary to re-attach the belt around it.
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Conclusions
LH
The best way to fly? Well it sure is one of the better, out of the airlines I tried TATL; KL, NW, DL, UA and LH they we're definitely the best in regards of cabin crew, they were all very nice and helpful. It seemed to be genuine kindness. (that, or they are all good actors) Only point is the old fashioned interior on the 744, but more airlines are guilty of that.
YV
No CRJ horror story from my part, though it might have been cramped a few rows behind me, my legroom was great. The cabin crew seemed nice. Only the seats were a bit hard with thin cushions.
UA
I can definitely recommend Y+ to any UA traveler, 4 inches is a lot on a 7 hour or longer flight. The interior looked good. Flight attendants were okay, but seemed a bit grumpy and weren't really trying to give you a good experience. Also I'd like a little bigger breakfast next time. Apart from that I'd list UA in the same rank as NW/DL/KL. As for the waiting list incident, shame on you! You made me sign for a seat and then it turns out I'm not getting one at all! (Though I will be back, someone has to redeem those vouchers)
KL
KLM's inter-europe service is decent, but nothing special. I did not pay for this flight but mostly they are overpriced. The cabin crew was okay but then this flight was too short to really make a judgment. At the time they seemed like blue angels finally getting me home!
Thank you for reading my report. (That's if you made it all the way down) I appreciate any comments or feedback. Hope you enjoyed.
PlaneHunter From Germany, joined Mar 2006, 5426 posts, RR: 81 Reply 1, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10100 times:
Hi Martijn,
great report about an interesting tour. Too bad you had to wait so long at CDG.
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): After that the lunch was either chicken, or bratwurst and sauerkraut (at least they are keeping it real Wink ) I opted for the first choice and it was surprisingly good! My dad had the second and said it reminded him of the food he used to get at german army bases while training there hehe. The best part about the meal was that the beer came in an actual bottle.
The meals don't look bad. Good idea to serve bratwurst and sauerkraut, but they shouldn't add any gravy...
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): After docking I made my way forward and asked the stewardess waving everybody off if I could make a picture of the front office, she happily asked the pilots and they invited me in. They were very nice guys and both told me the 767 was a very nice plane when I asked how she handled.
Braniff747SP From United States of America, joined Oct 2008, 2037 posts, RR: 1 Reply 2, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 5 days ago) and read 10005 times:
Great report, Martijn! Interesting how UA did not get you on the flight... Typical UA... Again, fantastic rep, lots of pictures!
Axel
The 747 will always be the TRUE queen of the skies!
HOOB747 From United States of America, joined Nov 2006, 420 posts, RR: 0 Reply 3, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 23 hours ago) and read 9771 times:
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): The take-off roll seemed never ending, if I timed correctly about 50 seconds!
That sounds about right. I counted about 45 seconds on my UA 744 SYD-LAX take-off roll. It sure does seem like a long time when counting 45 seconds sitting in my living room! Great pics, especially the beautiful KLM 744 and those brats are making my mouth water! Thanks for the great report, I loved reading about your experiences.
JFKMan From United States of America, joined Mar 2007, 572 posts, RR: 4 Reply 4, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 22 hours ago) and read 9688 times:
That was a great TR! Well done. Great pictures! I hope to fly on LH one day soon!!!
That was unacceptable from UA though
Hey! I'm Tommy from JFK, New York. (US AIRWAYS RULES)
Airbuseric From Netherlands, joined Jan 2005, 3735 posts, RR: 52 Reply 7, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 9367 times:
Hi Martijn,
that was a nice round of flying! Nice to fly-over your own house heading to the US. Next time, you just call LH and ask them to pick you up down the end of your street maybe? Saves you from the ride to FRA...
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): The best part about the meal was that the beer came in an actual bottle.
You can have these 33cl bottles also on their European flights. It's unbelievable, but these are always part of my meals on LH
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): I made my way to my seat and found the legroom to be very generous, much better then on say, KL or LH economy.
I've always liked my flights on CRJ700 / 900's, never misplaced windows for me, and seatpitch is generally fine. Though, I choose to fly as far to the front as possible, since the noice from the engines is irritating me a lot after some time
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): I opted for a cran apple juice as inspired by other trip reports,
Good choice, I love it! Got a whole can on AA last April, just before landing in LHR
Anytime!! That's a good amount for a voucher. Despite that, the agent was a bit unkind with the wrong information for your transfer, but hey,... you can fly again, probably for free or very low amount of money. And then, you don't care anymore about your waiting at CDG
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): Coffee had a strong taste and I couldn't really decide if I liked it or not
Nice to see Starbucks in the skies now too! Can I ask for some other flavours too, or do they only serve the brewed coffee
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): KL has the choice of multiple (including alcoholic) beverages and either a cookie or a packet of tuc's
That's to 'cheap' again on KLM. I know this offering very well. I guess the CDG-AMS runs are too short for KLM, although AF (I flew an A321 lately on this sector), offered a small throw-away plate, with 3 items on it + the beverage service. For sure better then I've ever had with KLM on these flights.
I must say, on longer flights, KLM European Y-class offers a better catering, as you can find on my last report posted here.
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): KLM's inter-europe service is decent, but nothing special. I did not pay for this flight but mostly they are overpriced.
It seems that I've you look smart into their fares, you might find some pretty good deals on KL ex AMS nowadays, with ticketing in The Netherlands.
Regards,
Eric
"The whole world steps aside for the man who knows where he is going"
Mtaabq From United States of America, joined Oct 2009, 81 posts, RR: 0 Reply 8, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 9236 times:
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): I took my seat in 49K and first noticed there were no personal gaspers!
This is a new term for me. Would the poster (or anyone else who might know) tell me what this means? I thank you in advance for your assistance.
KL911 From Hungary, joined Jul 2003, 4439 posts, RR: 17 Reply 9, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 20 hours ago) and read 9206 times:
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): I did have a PTV, but no AVOD. This basically included that you can select 10 channels where movies are on a loop, its sort of like a regular TV, you can choose channels, but not what is on.
That's weird. I thought all 'modern' carriers had AVOD for a long time. Great TR though!
Lfutia From Netherlands, joined Dec 2002, 3045 posts, RR: 34 Reply 10, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 19 hours ago) and read 9103 times:
Hallo Martijn!
Great trip report, awesome videos!! I look horrid in the photo your dad took of the two of us but oh well. Definitely come visit ORD again for another terminal tour It's great being an employee at ORD! I believe the time that we had with the American lady was 'gezellig'. You definitely had a nice seat on the 767 to Paris one of my favourite seating locations -- right behind the wing. Nice to see that KL returned your bags for you with a nice voucher. UA never offered me one when they left my bags in LGA.
If anyone is passing through ORD, definitely give me a shout, I'd be more than happy to meet you!
To the Nederlanders -- I think I have to be one of the few americans who can easily prounounce the ge sound go ahead, try me!
Groetjes van Chicago,
Leo
Leo/ORD -- Groetjes uit de VS! -- Heeft u laatst nog met KLM gevlogen?
Prinair From United States of America, joined Dec 1999, 742 posts, RR: 3 Reply 11, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 15 hours ago) and read 8861 times:
Quoting Braniff747SP (Reply 2): Great report, Martijn! Interesting how UA did not get you on the flight... Typical UA... Again, fantastic rep, lots of pictures!
Quoting JFKMan (Reply 4): That was unacceptable from UA though
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 7): Anytime!! That's a good amount for a voucher. Despite that, the agent was a bit unkind with the wrong information for your transfer, but hey,... you can fly again, probably for free or very low amount of money. And then, you don't care anymore about your waiting at CDG
It is interesting how some people choose to criticize an airline without knowing what really caused these two passengers to not have a seat on the AF flight segment.
I believe the UA agent did book them on the AF flight and that their PNR did show them as confirmed. AF was more than likely already overselling their flight but to the UA agent it would still show on her availability as available and as confirmed. This explains why the other lady did get a seat but you ended on their oversale standby list.
SQ772 From Singapore, joined Nov 2001, 1792 posts, RR: 5 Reply 12, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 13 hours ago) and read 8654 times:
Really enjoyed your long report. I must say that the trans-atlantic LH service looked very decent. I can never sleep onboard any flights, and reading in cramped conditions usually gives me a massive headache. As such, I need IFE to distract me on flights in Y class. It's a pity there are no plans to install IFEs on their 744s.
Quoting Prinair (Reply 11): It is interesting how some people choose to criticize an airline without knowing what really caused these two passengers to not have a seat on the AF flight segment.
I believe the UA agent did book them on the AF flight and that their PNR did show them as confirmed. AF was more than likely already overselling their flight but to the UA agent it would still show on her availability as available and as confirmed. This explains why the other lady did get a seat but you ended on their oversale standby list.
I'm sure there are always logical explainations for why service lapses take place. You can choose either to see it from a passenger or airline staff's point of view. Unless everyone here is from the airline industry, it's perfectly normal for them to view the situation from a typical passenger's perspective.
Quoting Mtaabq (Reply 8): Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter):
I took my seat in 49K and first noticed there were no personal gaspers!
This is a new term for me. Would the poster (or anyone else who might know) tell me what this means? I thank you in advance for your assistance.
that was a nice round of flying! Nice to fly-over your own house heading to the US. Next time, you just call LH and ask them to pick you up down the end of your street maybe? Wink Saves you from the ride to FRA..
Haha that would be convenient, although FRA was a great experience!
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 7): You can have these 33cl bottles also on their European flights. It's unbelievable, but these are always part of my meals on LH
I can see why
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 7):
Anytime!! That's a good amount for a voucher. Despite that, the agent was a bit unkind with the wrong information for your transfer, but hey,... you can fly again, probably for free or very low amount of money. And then, you don't care anymore about your waiting at CDG
Yeah those are my thoughts, (now) but at that time I could care less
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 7): Nice to see Starbucks in the skies now too! Can I ask for some other flavours too, or do they only serve the brewed coffee
I think only the brewed coffee, but as I said it definitely tasted stronger then the usual airline coffee.
Quoting Lfutia (Reply 10): Definitely come visit ORD again for another terminal tour
Next time I'm in the neighborhood I'll certainly let you know!
Quoting Lfutia (Reply 10): To the Nederlanders -- I think I have to be one of the few americans who can easily prounounce the ge sound go ahead, try me!
That's just awesome haha!
Quoting Prinair (Reply 11): I believe the UA agent did book them on the AF flight and that their PNR did show them as confirmed. AF was more than likely already overselling their flight but to the UA agent it would still show on her availability as available and as confirmed. This explains why the other lady did get a seat but you ended on their oversale standby list.
That seems to make sense, I sent a complaint to UA asking for an explanation.
Quoting Mtaabq (Reply 8): This is a new term for me. Would the poster (or anyone else who might know) tell me what this means? I thank you in advance for your assistance.
Quoting SQ772 (Reply 12): I'm equally curious...what are personal gaspers??
Those are the small overhead air outlets, which usually every seat has. I always have them on for a little airflow
FlyingFinn76 From Finland, joined Jun 2009, 1488 posts, RR: 45 Reply 14, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 4 days 8 hours ago) and read 8334 times:
Hi,
A very nice report of an interesting trip to the US. I for one would've liked to see some more destination photos as well, but the ones here are very good as well.
Congratulations on the VDB, are those UA vouchers exchangeable for cash at half of their face value? Most of the European vouchers are.
Did you even think taking the train home from CDG? You could've ridden the TGV up to Brussels and changed there, I reckon it would've still been speedier than your wait. But of course if your "next" flight was always only an hour or so away you didn't really anticipate your wait to be that long.
Those pictures of the LH 747 interiors look exactly the same as more than four years ago when I last flew on one - I think there's a time for a cabin refit.
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): The best part about the meal was that the beer came in an actual bottle.
The worst part of it was that it was Warsteiner!
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): I had heard some pretty bad stories about misplaced windows and legroom, but found no such thing in the Y+ class.
Those are mostly the bane of the CRJ-100/200 models. The -700 and -900 are far nicer - the windows are at least on the level of normal person's head, not designed for midgets like in the smaller models!
Quoting SQ772 (Reply 12): his is a new term for me. Would the poster (or anyone else who might know) tell me what this means? I thank you in advance for your assistance.
I'm equally curious...what are personal gaspers??
I think he means the air vents over your head.
Quoting Airbuseric (Reply 7): Nice to see Starbucks in the skies now too!
EasyJet started recently selling Starbucks coffee as well. On my recent flight there were two different flavors available, and they announced both of those over the PA.
Ah...ok. I always thought they were simply called 'individual air vents'. As far as I know, 'gaspers' are an optional feature on some Boeing aircraft types and many have the air vents centrally located. SQ, BA, CX, TG, NZ and many more do not have individual gaspers on their B744 fleets.
Transpac787 From United States of America, joined Jul 2007, 3064 posts, RR: 17 Reply 18, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 3 days 17 hours ago) and read 7638 times:
Great view. I always love seeing the 744 upward wing flexion in cruise
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): During the taxi to the stand engine number 4, which I had been looking at for the past 10 hours and 15 minutes, was hanging over the grass! You'd think it would be sucking up a lot of dirt and stuff?
Yikes!! I'd imagine they were using just #2 and #3 for taxi power, so as to avoid exactly that.
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): Pensacola Naval Air Station Museum (def. take the depot tour if your ever there)
Been there twice, love that museum!!
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): The beverage service started and I opted for a cran apple juice as inspired by other trip reports, it was pretty good!
Please tell me that I was the influence on that one
I was really hoping they'd end the war in the fourth... no such luck. That having been said, in regard to Christian Bale I'm WAYYYY more looking forward to the next Batman instead of the next Terminator, haha.
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): This was one of the first flights I wasn't excited to get on,
*narrows eyes*
It was a beautiful 737-800 with winglets, how could you not be excited???
Super80DFW From United States of America, joined Oct 2007, 1595 posts, RR: 13 Reply 19, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 3 days 16 hours ago) and read 7592 times:
Quoting CrimsonNL (Thread starter): I loved ORD! Everything looked really stylish. (In the terminals I visited that is)
Well, don't fly AA the next time then. AA's side of ORD is a very drab, old terminal. The only thing in the terminal that makes it worth the visit is the flag corridor.
Right now there is an AA MD-80 flying over my house.
TheGov From United States of America, joined Apr 2003, 389 posts, RR: 4 Reply 20, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 3 days 15 hours ago) and read 7572 times:
Quoting Prinair (Reply 11):
It is interesting how some people choose to criticize an airline without knowing what really caused these two passengers to not have a seat on the AF flight segment.
I believe the UA agent did book them on the AF flight and that their PNR did show them as confirmed. AF was more than likely already overselling their flight but to the UA agent it would still show on her availability as available and as confirmed. This explains why the other lady did get a seat but you ended on their oversale standby list.
I agree with this 100%. While its been 15 years since I worked for an airline, please allow me to go into a little more detail based upon what Prinair has stated. I suspect that the UA agent told you the truth as he saw it. When he confirmed you, once he ended the PNR he would have gotten an HK (holds confirmed) in the status line of the flight segment (pretty much an automatic response between res systems). But, by the time you left and the UA reservations system got an actual response from the AF reservations system, it more than likely came back as UK (unable confirm). The response time between UA and AF could have been seconds or hours. And by the time the UK response came back to someone at UA, you were, more than likely, in a position where they could not contact you. It would have been at that point that a UA res. agent would have listed you for either RK (request confirm) or LL (standby listing). If, somehow, a seat or two opened up on AF before you landed, the status would have changed to HK. But, as I was often reminded, UA wasn't the only one selling AF that day - the whole world was. Hence, the inability to be confirmed for the flight in question.
Now for the disclaimer, - What I have written was based on my experiences with airline res systems of 20 years ago. So, while I suspect it has not changed, if it has and I am wrong, then please forgive me.
SQ772 From Singapore, joined Nov 2001, 1792 posts, RR: 5 Reply 21, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 3 days 13 hours ago) and read 7474 times:
Quoting TheGov (Reply 20): I agree with this 100%. While its been 15 years since I worked for an airline, please allow me to go into a little more detail based upon what Prinair has stated. I suspect that the UA agent told you the truth as he saw it. When he confirmed you, once he ended the PNR he would have gotten an HK (holds confirmed) in the status line of the flight segment (pretty much an automatic response between res systems). But, by the time you left and the UA reservations system got an actual response from the AF reservations system, it more than likely came back as UK (unable confirm). The response time between UA and AF could have been seconds or hours. And by the time the UK response came back to someone at UA, you were, more than likely, in a position where they could not contact you. It would have been at that point that a UA res. agent would have listed you for either RK (request confirm) or LL (standby listing). If, somehow, a seat or two opened up on AF before you landed, the status would have changed to HK. But, as I was often reminded, UA wasn't the only one selling AF that day - the whole world was. Hence, the inability to be confirmed for the flight in question.
Assuming that UA knew that the OP's reservations could not be confirmed before he touched down in CDG, shouldn't UA then arrange for someone to meet the OP on arrival to advise or make separate arrangements for a new confirmed flight instead of leaving him to his own devices to wait for hours just to get onto the next available flight?
From a passenger's point of view, UA did not follow through what they had originally promised to the passenger who helped them avoid an unpleasant situation where confirmed passengers had to be unceremoniously offloaded. Granted that UA rewarded the OP with a $1000 voucher for volunteering, but that doesn't mean that they can wash their hands completely and leave him to fend for himself. Doesn't sound like good customer service at all.
PRINAIR From United States of America, joined Dec 1999, 742 posts, RR: 3 Reply 22, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 7208 times:
The AF system probably oversold the AF flight and never sent any type of PN (Pending), HL (Holding List), UN (Unable to confirm) or LL (Listed on standby) message into the Apollo PNR. The UA agents would not be aware of any oversales on the AF side as technically the space is HK (confirmed) and at the bottom of their Apollo PNR they would still see a record locator sent back by AF meaning a PNR has been created on the AF side. There is no lack of customer service by UA because what simply happened is that AF oversold and once the customers tried to check-in at AF they no longer had any seats to assign to the passengers. This would be the same as a typical oversale situation at any other carrier. AF is responsible for rebooking and providing the passengers with their standard oversale compensation.
CrimsonNL From Netherlands, joined Dec 2007, 1435 posts, RR: 43 Reply 23, posted (2 years 6 months 2 weeks 2 days 23 hours ago) and read 7173 times:
AIRLINERS.NET CREW CHAT OPERATOR
Quoting FlyingFinn76 (Reply 14): Did you even think taking the train home from CDG? You could've ridden the TGV up to Brussels and changed there, I reckon it would've still been speedier than your wait. But of course if your "next" flight was always only an hour or so away you didn't really anticipate your wait to be that long.
I think the TGV's last moments tickeets are so expensive those 7 hours don't seem long anymore!
Quoting Transpac787 (Reply 18): The 767-300 with winglets has surpassed the 757 as my favorite winglet'ed aircraft. No beating the look of the 11 foot tall 763 ones
I know, I would have loved to see the 742 blended winglet design work!
Quoting Transpac787 (Reply 18):
Yikes!! I'd imagine they were using just #2 and #3 for taxi power, so as to avoid exactly that.
Nope, number 4 was still running and blowing all the grass down!
Quoting Transpac787 (Reply 18): Please tell me that I was the influence on that one
Guilty
Quoting Transpac787 (Reply 18): It was a beautiful 737-800 with winglets, how could you not be excited???
Well after like 26 hours of travel with about 3 hours of sleep, I tend to get a little irritated.
This is exactly what I got in the reply from UA's customer service, along with their apologies.
Quoting SQ772 (Reply 21): Assuming that UA knew that the OP's reservations could not be confirmed before he touched down in CDG, shouldn't UA then arrange for someone to meet the OP on arrival to advise or make separate arrangements for a new confirmed flight instead of leaving him to his own devices to wait for hours just to get onto the next available flight?
Vandenheuvel From Netherlands, joined Dec 2008, 447 posts, RR: 3 Reply 24, posted (2 years 6 months 1 week 6 days 6 hours ago) and read 6667 times:
Hi Martijn,
This is your best report so far. Always interesting to see some holiday photos next to the flight report.
It must have been nice to meet your two friends in the US.
Tim,
25 Contact Air: Hi Martijn, great report and fantastic pictures and videos of a really interesting trip. That's a really funny coincidence, flying over your home hour
26 NwMKE: I love it! What a great trip report. LH is one of the best. I also love UA. Never tried KL.
27 MH017: CO0447/08dec09 ORD-IAH, or are you 'doing' UA flights only ? It would be 'gezellig' to meet you, Leo !!!
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From Netherlands, joined Dec 2007, 1435 posts, 
) I opted for the first choice and it was surprisingly good! My dad had the second and said it reminded him of the food he used to get at german army bases while training there hehe. The best part about the meal was that the beer came in an actual bottle. 
I ended up with a great seat in Y+. An American lady living in the Netherlands wanted to go, but was a little afraid of the transfer and such. She asked if she could stick to my dad and me and naturally we told her she'd be fine. (me being a frequent flyer and my dad working 23 years in aviation) 
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